Supreme Court upholds health measure blocking migrants at border
Migrants gather at the Mexico-US border at the Rio Grande River, guarded by the Texas National Guard, December 20, 2022. © Morgan Lee / AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In the United States, the Supreme Court has decided to maintain the famous “
Title 42
”, a measure which allows the expulsion of candidates for immigration, even potential asylum seekers.
With it, the legal battle between the Biden administration and the Republican states continues.
Publicity
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With our correspondent in New York
,
Loubna Anaki
The measure was put in place in March 2020 by Donald Trump to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Biden administration now wants to end it, except that several Republican states in the country, 19 in total, believe it would cause an even more serious crisis at the border, with
mass arrivals of migrants
.
The Supreme Court is due to rule in the coming months, but in the meantime, five out of nine justices have decided to leave the measure in place.
One of the conservative judges, Neil Gorsuch, nevertheless voted with his progressive colleagues by explaining that “
Title 42 was put in place to respond to a health crisis, and the migration crisis is not a health crisis
”.
For his part, Republican Senator from Louisiana, Bill Cassidy, for example, expressed himself on Twitter by declaring: "
Glad to see this intervention by the Supreme Court to preserve
[Title 42]
, but we need a permanent solution.
»
Removing Title 42 would have made our border crisis worse, and the White House seemed willing to let that happen.
Glad to see the Supreme Court step in to preserve it, but we need a permanent solution.
— US Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (@SenBillCassidy) December 27, 2022
A law already used two million times
This famous policy called "
Title 42
" allows the authorities to immediately deport migrants arriving at the border, without allowing those who may have the right to apply for asylum.
According to official figures, this device has been used more than two million times since its entry into force in 2020. A clear violation of international laws, according to organizations for the protection of migrants.
Tuesday, December 27, the White House immediately reacted to the Supreme Court's decision, saying that this "
Title 42
" should not be extended indefinitely.
The government is also calling on Congress to pass the migration reforms proposed by President Joe Biden.
► To read also: In the United States, Republican governors move migrants to denounce Biden's policy
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